AS part of the efforts to mitigate the impact of global warming and other environmental challenges, the Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and his wife, Bolanle on Tuesday appealed to the 21 million residents in the state to do everything possible to preserve the environment.
Ambode urged the residents to emulate the culture of tree planting, describing it as the cheapest and the simplest option to preserve the lungs of the earth.
Flagging off the 2015 Tree Planting Day at Government Technical College, Ikotun, Governor Ambode said that climate change and its effect on human lives is real and that its vulnerability on the state is also real as a coastal city.
The Governor, who described the theme of the annual event entitled: “Tree, the lungs of the earth,” as apt, said it clearly underscores the importance of trees in sustaining human life through the purification of the air that human beings breathe in.
According to him, climate change and its effect on human lives are real; so also is the vulnerability of our state. All statistics and projections about the impact of climate change on the earth planet, particularly the gradual depletion of the rainforest, reinforce the need for all hands to be on deck.
This tree planting exercise, which remains the cheapest and simplest option, is one of the strategies that have been put in place to tackle this challenge.
“I would like to enjoin all Lagosians to embrace tree planting as a way of life in order to restore the dignity of the earth. We must desist from indiscriminate felling of trees and for every tree that must be removed, at least five must be planted,” he said, adding that over 5.9 millions trees have so far been planted in the state in the exercise, which took place simultaneously in 180 locations across the state.
He disclosed that the exercise has created over 96,000 jobs for all categories of artisans and professionals.
